The present invention relates generally to a system that leverages the bandwidth in a hybrid fiber coax (HFC) communications network to provide services that address the social impacts related to managing and working with remote workers in an organization.
Telecommuting is generally advantageous for workers and businesses in matters of sheer productivity. However, there are costs related to the disruption of social relationships. The problems for remote workers include increased social isolation from their peers, less face time with colleagues for problem solving and mentoring, and increased stress due to negative perceptions from on location coworkers.
Today, many businesses and other electronic communities have a hybrid fiber coax (HFC) network in which workers are connected. Many different devices such as computers, set top boxes, telephones, and the like may be used to connect the workers to the HFC network. The HFC network provides the workers with continuous connectivity to the Internet in that the HFC network is an xe2x80x9calways onxe2x80x9d mode. Many of the workers have web-based communication tools and video conferencing hardware to enhance the Internet experience.
There are many services for the Internet that alert a user who has enabled the service to be notified of the availability of other predefined users that have logged on to the Internet. The most widely known of these services include the Instant Messenger(trademark) service from America Online(copyright). However, a problem with the known services is that they do not take advantage of the assumption that broadband users will be using the services, and therefore have the infrastructure required to enable a plethora of communication tools (not available to the lower speed, low bandwidth users) that provide a close-to-natural communication experience.
What is needed is a method and system for facilitating interaction within communities of workers in the most natural setting possible. The needed system must provide each connected employee with the instant ability to achieve contact including effective face-to-face contact and tools that provide the instant feedback expected in communication.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and system that leverage the bandwidth in a hybrid fiber coax (HFC) communications network to provide services that address the social impacts related to managing and working with remote workers in an organization.
In carrying out the objects and other objects, the present invention provides a system and associated method for enabling a user to determine the status of other users and to identify communications methods for contacting the other users based on the status of the other users. The system includes a plurality of communications devices each associated with a user. Each of the communications devices is operable for the associated user to self assign a user status and communications procedures for contacting the associated user as a function of the user status. Each of the communications devices associated with a user is operable for displaying the user status of the other users. A hybrid fiber coax (HFC) communications network is operable with the communications device for providing continuous communications connectivity of a plurality of users with one another through an Internet.
Preferably, each of the communications devices associated with a user is operable for displaying the communications procedures associated with the other users for contacting the other users. The communication device associated with a user is operable with the HFC communications network and the communication device associated with another user for enabling the user to select a communication method from the communication methods associated with the another user and then establish a communication connection with the another user based on the selected communications procedure.